Reflections: Week 3 & 4

These past two weeks went a little smoother with the blogging! I finally got the hang of commenting and posting on the correct days. I even figured out a fun trick to schedule an early post for a specific time and date!

Week 3

We had a couple readings from our book, Outlooks: Readings for Environmental Literacy, chapter 1, The Challenges We Face and chapter 27, Seeing Green: Knowing and Saving the Environment on Film. Both readings were interesting. Chapter 1 was pretty much an intro to the environment. It touched on topics such as population & health, food, energy & climate, and biodiversity. A quote that caught my attention right away was "The globe doesn't need to be saved by us, and we couldn't kill it if we tried". It then goes on to say that we have done a pretty good job at putting the climate, air, and water all out of balance and it is us that we are trying to save. I thought that this was a powerful and alarming statement. Chapter 27 focused on environmental films and the fact that some are educational with a powerful message while other films can often show the environment as a "fantasy". It is one thing to hear about an issue but it is another to actually see a picture and get a visual for what is going on. The meaning behind films being fantisized is when they portray the "natural" environment on screen, but hide or edit out the areas may be polluted or overpopulated.

Week 4

We had an Eye Opener assignment to get our Ecological Footprint. I found out that if everyone lived the way I do, it would take over 4 Earths! It was a good way to get a visual of just how much each of us are wasting with each day and how every little thing we do adds up. This week we also started watching "An Inconvenient Truth" featuring Al Gore. It is a powerful film that goes into detail about how our climate is changing and the effects it has on the land, water, ice, animals people, and much more. Here is a quote I thought was meaningful, "There is no doubt we can solve this problem. In fact, we have a moral obligation to do so. Small changes to your daily routine can add up to big differences in helping to stop global warming. The time to come together to solve this problem is now." The point being, we need to do something about this serious problem fast.

The past few weeks I feel like I have taken in a lot of information about the Earth and Global Warming. I realized now is a better time then ever to take action. I look forward to what is ahead in the next couple weeks!

Eye Opener: Ecological Footprint

How much of the Earths resources does my lifestyle take up? According to this quiz from the Redefining Progress, if everyone lived the lifestyle I live it would take 4.35 Earths! My results seemed to be somewhat below the Country's average, but it still surprised me that 1 poor college student took up over 4 Earths!

Since college I have defintely been introduced to the advantages of conserving electrcity, water, gas, heat, etc. not only for my wallet but for the Earth in general. We as Americans rely so much on water, electricity, heat, air-conditioning, driving etc, that we don't realize how much is going to waste.

I'd like to think that I contribute by taking the bus, carpooling, recycling, conserving, using hand-me-downs (it seems the list could go on and on) but there is always room to improve which I think I could.

What I found challenging about conserving had to do with the house that I live in. It's an old house, with old windows, oil heat and we rent it. That itself makes it difficult to be eco-friendly. We do try hard to contribute by puting in the correct light bulbs, blocking off windows and doorways, unplugging and turning things off, and keeping our heat in the high 50's (which believe me is chilly, you don't see us walking around our house with shorts and t-shirts on, it's more like jackets and hats still on!)

I thought this activity was fun but it just made me feel guilty that I need to do a lot better. I wish I had the money to have the hybrid car, or the solar panels in our house, but it's looking like that isn't happening for me any time soon, so I'll keep doing my part the best I can. I think the little things like recycling, turning off lights/appliances, and using public transportation can make a big difference!

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Share and Voice: Santa Barbara

This thursday I will be going to Santa Barbara, California for lacrosse! I'm doing a share and voice to try and see if I can make my post "scheduled". I will have to miss class in order to make my flight. I have to pack light and a laptop will most likely be pointless to bring, considering we are staying in a hostel that has no internet connections.

Here is the link to schedule if anyone else would like to try it out. I'm in the process, so this may or may not work the first time. Good luck if you try it out!